Commissioners unanimously approved a proposed tax rate of $0.357365 per $100 of taxable valuation. That rate is composed of two parts; the maintenance and operations rate, which is proposed at $0.307311, and the interest and sinking rate, or debt service rate, which is proposed at $0.050054. If approved, the county will break a two-year streak of increasing tax rates.
"We were able to lower that rate due to increasing values," Travis County Budget Director Travis Gatlin said in a briefing to commissioners. Staff used property values from January 2021 when developing the tax rate, which were up around 10% from the previous year, Gatlin said.
Commissioners will officially set the tax rate Sept. 21 following a public hearing Sept. 14. The 2021-22 budget is slated for approval the following week Sept. 28.
County staff released a preliminary draft of the budget Aug. 2, balanced at nearly $1.43 billion, up from last year's roughly $1.29 billion budget.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Aug. 18. Travis County residents can also submit feedback on the proposed budget ahead of the court's vote.
